From Walmart to Wall Street, Students Mass for Racial Justice

From Walmart to Wall Street, Students Mass for Racial Justice

September 29, 2014

Hands up at the Walmart where John Crawford was killed (photo: Ohio Student Association)

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Last spring, The Nation launched its biweekly student movement dispatch. As part of the StudentNation blog, each dispatch hosts first-person updates on youth organizing. For recent dispatches, check out August 29 and September 15. For an archive of earlier editions, see the New Year’s dispatch. Contact studentmovement@thenation.com with tips. Edited by James Cersonsky (@cersonsky).

The execution of John Crawford is but one example of how black lives are undervalued—and quickly erasable by police force. In response, Kent State University’s Black United Students, an ally of the Ohio Student Association, orchestrated a die-in of more than 100 students to send a message about police brutality within the black community and show support to the families who have become victims of this injustice. Moving forward, we are in communication with the Kent City Police department and are working with the student body to create a system where students can effectively and easily report any issues or injustices at the hands of local police or the university.

On September 22 at 8 am, the Association of Critical Collegians at Colgate University conducted a peaceful sit-in at the Office of Admissions against policies and attitudes surrounding race, sexual orientation, ability, gender and class that violate Colgate’s mission to create an open and welcoming community for all. For eight hours, the administration listened to testimonials from students—including stories of racist and insensitive comments from other students, micro-aggressions from professors, disregard of disabled students by the administration and struggles with class in such a wealthy environment—and a set of demands. In response, the university released a statement attempting to address our concerns. Due to its lack of accountability and lack of specificity, we voted to reject the statement; we are currently awaiting further response from the administration.

On September 17, Occupy offshoot Strike Debt announced it had purchased and erased more than $3.8 million in student debt, affecting 2,761 students of Everest College, part of for-profit Corinthian Colleges. Corinthian is teetering on the brink of financial collapse, and faces 200 lawsuits, including one for $500 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, over allegedly fraudulent, predatory practices. Despite Corinthian’s dire financial straits, students may still be liable for the loans they have incurred. Strike Debt’s purchase is a small step towards alleviating this burden. Strike Debt has long fought to empower debtors, noting that alone our debts are a burden, but together they make us powerful. To that end, we have launched The Debt Collective, which aims to unite debtors to build leverage—including Corinthian students—and provide tools for organizing. As we re-imagine our economic future together, there are many more struggles ahead.

—Strike Debt

10. Strike History

Across Jefferson County, high school students walked out throughout the week. (Video: CBS4/AP)

—Students of Jefferson County, Colorado

StudentNationFirst-person accounts from student activists, organizers and journalists reporting on youth-oriented movements for social justice, economic equality and tolerance.